Tamil actor and choreographer Prabhudeva has made a name for himself as a director in Hindi cinema by faithfully remaking Tamil and Telugu hits. His latest “original” film, based on an “original script” rather than material that has already worked in other languages, is ultra-macho drivel starring Ajay Devgn in two roles, each indistinguishable from the other.
One is of Vishy, a Mumbai ruffian who cannot be defeated in battle. The other is Jai, a Bangkok hitman who cannot be defeated in battle. The two swap places, swords go through throats, heads are smashed into available furniture and walls, and everybody poses at the end for a family portrait.
In between, Vishy romances Sonakshi Sinha’s ditz, whose first encounter with him is in a changing room while he is holding a pair of oversized underwear. Meanwhile, Jai refuses the seductions of Manasvi Mamgai’s Marina, who has decided that there is more than a gun in his pocket and wants him all for herself even though he is involved with Yami Gautam’s Anusha.
Action Jackson is a UA-rated sex comedy plus action movie that delivers its adults-only violence and suggestive humour in a cartoonish manner aimed at schoolboys who harass puppies and pull the wings off dragonflies. More sensible viewers might prudently decide to put some distance between their younger ones and their selves and this nasty and cynical piece of mainstream entertainment, whose only ambition is to top the Duds of the Year list.